Pennies

Pennies is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1122489).

Pennies exists to make micro-donations easy in an increasingly cashless society, and its purposes include promoting the voluntary sector by encouraging and facilitating charitable giving. It works with partners to raise money through digital micro-donations and passes what is raised to charities nominated by its merchant partners. It has awarded £14,199,649 according to its annual report and says it has supported more than 1,000 charities to date.

Priority Areas

Pennies uses digital micro-donations collected through merchant and payment partners to make grants to registered charities. Its giving supports a wide range of causes, including local and regional charities and national organisations serving people in the UK, Ireland and across the world. Recipients must be registered charities in England and Wales or equivalent jurisdictions, pursue charitable purposes and demonstrate public benefit. Charities with exclusively politically or religiously driven aims are not eligible. Charities work with corporate partners, which must meet a minimum fundraising requirement, and Pennies grants cannot be their sole or majority income. Merchants and payment service providers may nominate charities, subject to Pennies’ criteria and ongoing requirements. Beneficiary charities must provide information about how grants are used and the difference they make when requested.

Geographic Focus

UK; Republic of Ireland; Isle of Man; Jersey.

Charities can enquire through the Get Started form to begin a partnership with Pennies. They can choose to implement Pennies with a corporate partner; Pennies works with charities’ existing corporate partners to invite customers to donate.

Who can apply:

• All grants made by us are to charities registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales or the equivalent in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Jersey, or the Isle of Man.
• You must be a charity registered in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man or Jersey.
• Pennies grants received should not form a charity’s majority or sole income.
• Your corporate partner must meet a minimum fundraising requirement.

What the charity says:

• Merchants and payment service providers may be invited, as appropriate, to nominate charities to benefit from a major proportion of the funds they raise.
• Nominated charities must comply with Pennies’ overall criteria and ongoing requirements, including applicable legislation and impact information on the grants.
• Beneficiary charities must provide representative information on request about grant use and the difference made to beneficiaries.